This document provides ideas and suggestions for designing your own life and career path. It discusses how the author has spent his time over 59 years, pursuing various educational and career opportunities. Some key tips discussed include following your interests and passions even if unconventional, putting heart into everything you do, innovating in all activities, contributing to the world, and finding fulfillment through achievement rather than just having fun. The overall message is that you have more choice than you think in designing your own life path.

1. Design your own life!
..some ideas & suggestions
Pete Kellock
v 2014-03-25

2. How I’ve spent the last 59 years...

5. Age 0 – 2 wks
Age 2 wks – 10 yrs
Age 17 – 20 (BSc)
Age 10 – 17
Age 20 – 28 (MA +PhD)
Age 28 – 34
(Engineer, CTO)
Age 34 – now
Singapore
Where to go on holiday
(best in May)
Student working holidays...
Age 20: 3 months in USA
Age 22/23: 2 x 3 months in France

6. My Early Dreams
Inventor?
Composer?
Explorer?

7. “Men wanted for hazardous journey.
Small wages. Bitter cold. Long
months of complete darkness.
Constant danger. Safe return
doubtful. Honour and recognition in
case of success.”
Ernest Shackleton
December 1913
( ...but maybe apocryphal)

8. Patents

9. Music Composition

10. Travel

11. University
• BSc, Physics / Maths
...and Computer Science, Music, Geology
• MA (Hons), Music
...and International Relations
Paying my way:
• research assistant
• freelance horn player
• PhD in Electronic Music:
– Science / Technology
– Music Composition

12. PhD Years
PhD in electronic music
“Animation and Real-Time Control Techniques in Electronic Music:
Theory, Development and Application in Two Tape Compositions”
Rock band: Solaris

13. Glissboard

14. Steel Breeze

15. Earning a Living...
;------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; PRR State 1.
;
; Only comes here if perf > stub. Monitors existing perf, waiting for an
; event to start recording on scratch perf.
;------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; * Handle live events (eg start/stop)
pr1 ld ix,prfpst ; Perf PST
call getibev ; Get input event if any
jr c,$20 ; Jump if no events
;
ex de,hl ; Input event pointer to de
ld hl,pr1tabj ; pr1 router table for jumps
call hev_b1j ; Handle event (bank 1 jumps)
;
call srecev? ; Should event cause recording to start?
jr z,pr1_pr2 ; Jump if so
; * Handle performance events
$20 call prun ; Performance runner
call getpbev ; Get perf buffer event if any
jr c,$40 ; Jump if none
;
call prfcky ; Perf Ckey event handler (On/Off)
call nz,hevdef ; If not Ckey event, use default event handler
; * Run all active procs + perf & handle bar/beat display
$40 call run_m ; Call runner
call chkbt ; If beat trans, update bar/beat & % memory
jr pr1

16. Zyklus

17. Zyklus
Band

18. Zyklus: some stuff I learnt the hard way
• The music industry sucks 
• Even when you think you’re market-driven...
• Praise and Respect ≠ Viable Business
– even if it’s from famous people
• Don’t plan too much
...but a strong sense of purpose and direction is essential
• Don’t be afraid to rip plans up
...which is why you shouldn’t spend long on them in the first place
• Don’t start a business with anyone whose integrity you doubt
• Be careful around blind optimists
• Startup can be hell
• Stay calm. Be nice. Forgive and move on.

19. 1989: came to Singapore
1989 to 1999
• NUS - ISS: Designing/managing/teaching short courses
• KRDL: Research in digital media
• Algorithmic music and sound: Rhythm Morpher, FlexEffex, etc
• Video – MPEG7 etc

20. My Role in muvee
• Lead inventor
– Core idea (2 of us)
– Patenting – deeply involved in most of muvee’s patents
• Head of R&D team: 2000-2001
– Research directions
– Product definition
– Some architecting & coding
• CEO: 2001 – 2006
– Setting direction, recruitment, leading team, marketing, product
definition & aesthetics, business development, deal-making, financial
control, cash-raising, corporate governance ...and lots more
• CXO/“muveeMeister”: 2007-2010 (part time)
– strategy, styles, decision-making, etc
• Left muvee in Sept 2010.

21. How I’m spending my time at the moment...
External:
• Mentor to entrepreneurs: NUS, SMU, etc
• Advisor to an incubator
• Advisor/Assessor for National Arts Council
• Voluntary work in Sri Lanka
Personal Projects:
• Writing music
• Personal investment (equity analysis, etc)
• Travel

22. muvee

23. muvee
Unique software for Automatic Video Production
– finished productions from raw video (or photos) in
minutes or seconds
… skills of a video pro in software
– for everyone – kids to grannies
– for almost anything: family events, kids, holidays,
sports… (and pros use it too)
– in hundreds of styles

24. Videos:
- Intro to muvee
- Demo muvees

25. What drove the innovation?
Innovations often start from combining DRIVER(s) and ENABLER(s)
DRIVER (eg a need)...
• Raw video is BORING, but traditional editors are...
– Too complex: steep learning curve
– Too slow/tedious: hours or days
– Dumb: they need knowledge of the “grammar of editing” to get good results
&

26. ...cont: What drove the innovation?
ENABLERS (Possibilities/Capabilities)...
• Techniques for analysis/processing of video:
• ...and music
FACE DETECTION MOTION DETECTION
Tempo = 93
TEMPO & BEAT
DETECTION

27. Put Driver and Enabler
together...
Dec 1999 : Seed of the idea... “DIY MTV”
Evolved to become Automatic Video Editing

28. The Three Big Questions
Q1. Will people really want it?
– And what *exactly* do they want - what particular set of features and controls?
= “PRODUCT DEFINITION”
Q2. Can we make it work well enough?
– Productions that “look good”
... ie that have more emotional power than the raw video?
Q3. Is anyone else out there doing it already?
– If they are big, powerful and ahead of us, it’s probably GAME OVER

29. Q1: Will people really want it?
...and what *exactly* do they want?
APPROACH: “Don’t worry be Crappy” --Guy Kawasaki
= LEAN
ie Talk to users -> MVP -> Demo it
Above all, LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY!
“Wow, this is awesome! You guys are geniuses!!”  MEANS NOTHING
“Can I buy it now?”  GOOD! YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK...

30. Q2: Can we make it work well enough?
APPROACH: eliminate feasibility risk with a Proof of Concept (PoC)
First results in mid 2000. Good!

31. Architecture
31
Raw Video
Video
Description
Music
Description
Video Data
Music Data
Music
Finished muvee:
a high-quality
auto-edited video
production
Styles
User Selects
Constructor
(Makes Edit
Decisions)
Renderer
(Performs
Editing on
the
video/audio
data)
Edit
Decision
List
Video Analyzer
Music Analyzer

32. Q3: Is anyone else doing it already?
APPROACH: get out on the road & talk with people!
• Meet potential competitors (also potential licensors!) ...
• Attend tradeshows...
By mid 2001, we were fairly sure we were out ahead of anyone else.

33. Sep 2001: muvee autoProducer v1.0 released!
Launched online
+
Simultaneously:
Licensed the
engine
Note the simplicity: basically just 3 steps. MVP!

34. Founding Team

35. What else did we do in the early days?
Between 2000 & 2002, apart from the product itself...
• Filing patents
• Figuring out our “messaging” (how you tell the story)
• ... and “brand identity” (though we didn’t call it that)
• Website including sales
• “Guerilla” PR
• Raising VC investment
• Basics: registering company, accounting, office setup...
• Recruiting
• ... and lots and lots of other things

36. muvee - Achievements
Hasn’t made the founders or investors rich (yet?) but...
• Has created a whole new category of SW: Automatic Video Editing
• 100s of millions shipped, millions of users
– Licensees have included: Sony, HP, Nokia, Nikon, LG...
• Headline publicity
• Many delighted customers
• Substantial global mindshare, eg today (as of Mar 2014):
– ~500k hits for “muvee” on Google
– > 150k hits for “muvee” on YouTube
• > $S50m revenue from overseas
• > 500 man-years of employment created in SG
• Excellent adventure! 
• Huge learning experience
• Strong & lasting friendships

37. muvee: Challenges
• Hasn’t made any of us rich yet!
– Appeared to be a quick win or die prospect, but that’s not how it has turned
out.
TAKEAWAY: prepare for the possibility of moderate success
• Imho, has never unambiguously “crossed the chasm”
...and still not clear when/how that may happen
• Specific problem: works like magic sometimes; other times not
• Hard to sustain team excitement after so long

38. Product
Evolution
v1
v8
Q: Were we right to add
features and make it
more complicated?

39. muvee
homepage
2014-03-24

40. Tips for entrepreneurs

41. Do you want to be an entrepreneur? Why?
• Because it’s trendy?
• Money?
• Don’t like being told what to do?
• To prove you have what it takes?
• Accelerate career?
• Status?
• Respect?
• Adventure?
• Self-discovery / “Self-actualization”?
• Contribution to the world?

42. Some things you can look forward to...
• Worry as constant companion
– Failure is common; success rare
– If you fail, lots of people will be deeply disappointed
• Tough decisions that some people will hate you for
• Dealing with dumb mistakes (your own and by others)
• 100-hour workweeks
• Hundreds of boring things you never knew you had to do
(but do!)
• The feeling that you’re never doing enough
• Cold sweats at 4am
HEALTH WARNING:
It’s hell
sometimes!

43. 43

44. 44

45. “If you’re going though
hell, keep going!”
45

46. 46

47. Becoming an entrepreneur:
Why it’s worth doing anyway
• Seeing what you’ve created take root and grow
• Changing the world - even a little bit
• Learning a million new things
…OK, some of which you probably never wanted to know!
• Proving the skeptics wrong
• Finding new qualities in yourself
• Having an adventure
• Career advancement?
• Money?

48. BTW... motivational posters? I can’t stand them.

49. 49
Let’s consider the salmon’s point of view...

51. The Business Plan
“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy”
--Helmuth von Moltke
“No business plan survives contact with the market”
If you’re going to write fiction, write a novel instead.
Focus less on planning, more on discovering
...and identifying+testing assumptions

52. Product Definition
Probably the single most important thing for most high tech ventures today.
• Think in terms of the whole “User Journey” (more than just User Experience)
and users’ emotional reactions
– Obsess about simplicity.
• Every feature incurs cost: is it justified?
– Obsess about clear messaging
• What misunderstandings will occur?
– Work on aesthetics and “playful” aspects – what will make users smile?
• Feature requests: keep a small database of requests and prioritize them
ruthlessly.
• Develop sophisticated instincts. Beware market research and focus groups.
(But Usability Studies are often very valuable.)
Why is Apple so successful? Strong on all fronts, but especially product
definition (imho).

53. Media Relations (PR)
• Free in most cases! (v. advertizing)
• Make the story dramatic
• Guerilla approach can work
• …but later, get some media training
• Don’t hire PR agencies on retainers

54. Some Comments on Leadership:
• It’s a constant learning curve
• Integrity / Honesty above all
• Always demand more of yourself than
others
• Be generous with equity
– A small part of a bigger pie is often worth
more $
– …and nearly always tastes better!
• Cultivate diversity of viewpoint and
opinion… with a passion!
– “If the only tool you know is a hammer,
every problem looks like a nail”
– “If we always agree, one of us is
redundant”
54
• Balance consensus and forceful
leadership
• Be gentle where possible. Be tough
when there’s no other way.
• Think a lot about your team’s emotions
• Harmony is essential. Discord may be
the biggest startup killer.
Too few people live in Harmony

55. Designing your life

56. Career: how I’ve approached it
• Always quite “anti-career”
...especially in big organizations
• Mostly just followed whatever I found fun / interesting / cool at the time
– But often tried to “dig deep”: you need to stick at most things for years to achieve
anything at all.
• For me, work and job are totally different things
– Many times what I’ve been paid for is not the work I cared most about.
– Money not v important: most of the things I enjoy don’t cost much
– ...and I usually find the status trap easy to resist
• Periods of v. high work intensity
– Got to grit your teeth sometimes
• Some long breaks and extended phases without pay
• Above all, try to put passion into everything you do
– If can’t find passion for what you’re doing for more than a few months, CHANGE!

57. Your choices are wider than you think
• Not just control of what job, but far more, including
– What goals to seek in life
– What principles to apply (eg Bret Victor: “Inventing on Principle”, etc...)
• In the broad sweep of history (hundreds or thousands of years), we live
in amazing times
– A large part of humanity (including all in this room) have huge control over
their own lives. In the past – and still for billions of people – this degree of
choice is an impossible dream
– So choose well! Don’t do stuff “by default”.
• How to choose?
– Keep thinking: pop a level or two at least every few days
– Keep doing: navel-gazing doesn’t work

58. What makes an Entrepreneur?
• Businessmen/women enter a commercial game and aim to win
• Entrepreneurs try to redefine the game
...or create a whole new game
...even if the risks are far higher

59. So why not do this with the
game of life?
Your life doesn’t have to be about winning a game created
by someone else.
You can (at least to a degree)
DECIDE THE LIFE-GAME YOU WANT TO PLAY
In other words, design your own life.

60. Here’s a thought...
Is
winning
for
LOSERS?

62. And if you do
win - what
happens next?

63. If your primary goal is to win, chances are
...you will fight your way up
...till you reach a level where you cannot go any higher
...and get stuck there.
And even if you reach the pinnacle,
will you feel happy and fulfilled?

64. Design your own life – how?
That’s up to you, but here are some ideas...
Instead of aiming to win a pre-existing career game, you can...
– Aim to discover and develop your own new games
• Commit yourself to innovating in everything you do – make it a habit
• Copy only rarely (eg to learn)
– Aim to contribute to the world around you
– Aim to support and “grow” the people interact with
– Try to find at least one speciality that isn’t transient
• Without this, software devp (and many other ICT careers) are hard –
constant reboots!

65. ...cont: Designing your own life
– Put your heart into whatever you do
• Work till you drop - sometimes
• Dig deep: select a few things and pursue them all the way
...even (especially!) when people think you’re crazy
• But keep a sense of humor
Laugh at yourself, your goals, your achievements, your failures.
– Do a small number of things but do them very well
– Aim to enjoy the journey
... and to make it fun & fulfilling for your fellow-travelers

66. Having Fun v. Achievement?
Designing your own career takes more self-discipline than following the
usual job/career path
Why?
For most of us, true happiness is more than just having a good time.
• FULFILMENT is what counts most
...but fulfilment requires ACHIEVEMENT
...and achievement requires SELF-DISCIPLINE
• Often a conflict between:
– What I feel like doing right now
– What I want to get done
How do you manage this conflict?

67. Work-life: my model
Wasting your Life
Doing work you don’t
enjoy in a job you
don’t believe in
(usually for money).
Slogging
Building towards some
long-term / career
goals, but the day to
day work is tough or
boring
Goofing Off
Having fun, but not
building anything for
the future
In the Zone
Doing something you
love which also serves
a long-term bigger
purpose
+ve
FUTURE
Achieving long-term
goals
“Sense of Purpose”
-ve
-ve
+ve
PRESENT
In-the moment
happiness
A great place to be, but
don’t expect to spend all
your time here.
“Travel light” and make time for this: eg
great vacations, and even some “mini-
retirements”
Beware the addictive & half-hearted
versions: eg hourly tweeting / facebook
/ IM / emailing
Don’t dream of living here all the time:
even if you achieve it, the dream will
probably turn sour.
Lots of people end up here.
Main causes? Financial
Commitments and Fear.
Expect to spend some
time here: worthwhile
achievements always
involve some slog. Go all-
out during those times.
But don’t live here all the
time. If you always live in
the future, you may never
live at all.

68. Potential Career/Life Traps
Everyone is different, so hard to generalize. But beware...
• doing stuff “by default”
• becoming dependent on high income
– Worst version: hate job, feel insecure, earn a lot but spend it all
(and some)
• desire for status
– eg fear that your friends are doing better
Travel light and keep your options open.
If you get in a career rut, take a deep breath and *jump*
...because playing safe is often the most dangerous strategy

69. DANGER!
Large financial commitments
are a
major threat to your freedom.
Beware the desire for STUFF and STATUS.

70. Final comments

71. “To achieve your goals in life....
...help others achieve theirs.”

75. Thanks for
Listening!

76. Some suggested viewing/ reading
• Video: Bret Victor - “Inventing on Principle”
• Website: sivers.org
• Blog: Seth Godin
• Book: Eric Ries - “The Lean Startup”
– If you’re even thinking of doing a tech startup, get familiar with the lean
startup movement before you do anything: the ideas of Steve Blank,
Eric Ries, Yves Pigneur and others
• Book: Tim Ferris - “The Four-Hour Workweek”
– I don’t support some of his attitudes, but he has thought-provoking
ideas and perspectives. One of the few business/self-improvement
books that’s worth more than 5 minutes of your time.